Update...no photos

Sorry, no photos, hence a boring update ;0) I just haven't been taking out the camera as frequently, but really should since we received a very nice new one for Christmas. I think I'm scared I'll break it or something!

We finished school last Friday for our 3 (or 4) week break. It will be 3 or 4 weeks depending on a few upcoming details. What have we been doing? Well, the kids have made a number of kites out of yarn and bags from Walmart. It was pretty cute to watch as Abigail and Philip ran around the yard trying to get them launched. And, they've been fort-building: an old stand-by activity. Lydia and I went for her weekly piano lesson today, so we'll be still practicing that while on break. Abigail started lessons as well a couple of weeks ago. I'm the teacher for both girls. Friday we have our art co-op class. My mom made Philip a stuffed, fabric, boxing glove today. He was very proud to give all the neighbor boys (who asked) a punch to the tummy. The weather was unseasonably warm today so Lydia and I dumped in a bunch of new dirt and some peat into our square foot garden. It looks nice and black and ready for stuff to grow in it. I'm reading about growing sweet potatoes. As my friend, Christin, told me: Yes, I'm sure everybody just KNEW how to do this stuff "back then" and nowadays we have to look it up. True, true! So, I'm thinking about that. But that's about it for now! Nothing extraordinary, marvelous, or novel--just rejoicing in the daily blessings of good health, strength and life together!

New Year's Eve Wedding

I mentioned in a past post that I was helping a dear friend with her wedding reception. It turned out to be a wonderful time, and a lot of prep and planning. But it was a real joy to have people from church, with innumerable gifts, help out. Phase One of the operation involved deboning 10 hams. We cut off all the meat so that it would be ready to be heated and served on sweet rolls with honey mustard dressing in a make-your-own sandwich type of serving. So, here are a couple of photos of friends from church getting off the meat!

Joe didn't tell us beforehand, but he had an expert technique which streamlined the process!

Phase Two-A was the collection and receipt of about 140 dozen of the cookies (the remainder arrived on the day of the wedding). I don't have any photos of this, but we received the cookies at my friend Christin's house. She graciously allowed both her kitchen and dining room to be overrun by cookies and platters and doilies and rubber gloves and crumbs and saran wrap. The platters were lovely, each being accented by freshly washed magnolia leaves. There were so many delicious treats. Phase Two-B was the transportation of the platters to the church where they were set out on tables and all the kitchen work was begun in preparation for the next day.

Phase Three: wedding day. The work began about 3.5 hours before the wedding. My army of helpers was eager to: fill dip/sauce bowls, get veggies on platters, slice 525 buns, mix about 6 gallons of punch mix, set up coffee pots, fill water pitchers. And then...I noticed that the wedding cake was sitting in the middle of the room with the sun streaming through a window directly onto the top layer, causing it to sweat. I commandeered a helpful young man, and he broke down a large cardboard box and stood in front of the cake, with the box casting the shadow until the earth revolved just enough to be out of the sun's light! Jesse Saved the Cake!

The reception was very enjoyable--the plates never ran out of food. In fact, we had enough leftovers to feed the whole church the next day, and for people to take home bags of food for their families. A true blessing!

To Christmas and beyond!

We enjoyed a lovely day in Greenville with Papa & Ms. Faye just prior to Christmas. The children were very excited to have some early presents. Abigail thought it appropriate to dress nicely...Lydia, thought perhaps comfortable was better. The boys were super-excited to get Nerf swords, which they promptly put to good use!
Hail the conquering hero!!
Because Christmas fell on a Sunday this year, we decided to celebrate our gift-giving on Christmas Eve.
Lydia was happy to have her "fake-UGGs" and Philip was happy for her. Simeon is still satisfied with gifts from the Dollar Tree.